Space storable propellant vacuum performance evaluation Final report

Rocket engine tests using space storable propellants and various injector configuration

Fluorine-hydrogen performance evaluation phase 2 - Space storable propellant performance demonstration Final report

Space storability performance of fluorine and hydrogen propellant

dc readout experiment at the Caltech 40m prototype interferometer

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) operates a 40m prototype interferometer on the Caltech campus. The primary mission of the prototype is to serve as an experimental testbed for upgrades to the LIGO interferometers and for gaining experience with advanced interferometric techniques, including detuned resonant sideband extraction (i.e. signal recycling) and dc readout (optical homodyne detection). The former technique will be employed in Advanced LIGO, and the latter in both Enhanced and Advanced LIGO. Using dc readout for gravitational wave signal extraction has several technical advantages, including reduced laser and oscillator noise couplings as well as reduced shot noise, when compared to the traditional rf readout technique (optical heterodyne detection) currently in use in large-scale ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detectors. The Caltech 40m laboratory is currently prototyping a dc readout system for a fully suspended interferometric gravitational wave detector. The system includes an optical filter cavity at the interferometer's output port, and the associated controls and optics to ensure that the filter cavity is optimally coupled to the interferometer. We present the results of measurements to characterize noise couplings in rf and dc readout using this system

The upgrade of GEO600

The German / British gravitational wave detector GEO 600 is in the process of being upgraded. The upgrading process of GEO 600, called GEO-HF, will concentrate on the improvement of the sensitivity for high frequency signals and the demonstration of advanced technologies. In the years 2009 to 2011 the detector will undergo a series of upgrade steps, which are described in this paper.Comment: 9 pages, Amaldi 8 conference contributio

Title IX and Menstruation or Related Conditions

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (“Title IX”) prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. Neither the statute nor its implementing regulations explicitly define “sex” to include discrimination on the basis of menstruation or related conditions such as perimenopause and menopause. This textual absence has caused confusion over whether Title IX must be interpreted to protect students and other community members from all types of sex-based discrimination. It also calls into question the law’s ability to break down systemic sex-based barriers related to menstruation in educational spaces. Absent an interpretation that there is explicit Title IX coverage, menstruation will continue to cause some students to miss instruction. Other students may be denied access to a menstrual product or a restroom as needed and face health consequences. They also may be teased and bullied after menstrual blood visibly leaks onto their clothes. Employees, who are also covered by Title IX, may be fired for damaging school property as a result of such leaks.1 People in perimenopause may be denied reasonable modifications like bathroom access, water, or temperature control. Collectively, this creates an educational system that prevents students, faculty, or employees from fully participating in educational institutions and causes harm

Title IX and Menstruation or Related Conditions

Title IX protects against sex-based discrimination and harassment in covered education programs and activities. The Biden Administration\u27s recently proposed Title IX regulations do not, however, include discrimination on the basis of menstruation or related conditions as a form of discrimination based on sex. This comment on the proposed regulations explains why the regulations should include conditions related to menstruation and recommends changes for how to do so

Title IX and Menstruation or Related Conditions

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (“Title IX”) prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. Neither the statute nor its implementing regulations explicitly define “sex” to include discrimination on the basis of menstruation or related conditions such as perimenopause and menopause. This textual absence has caused confusion over whether Title IX must be interpreted to protect students and other community members from all types of sex-based discrimination. It also calls into question the law\u27s ability to break down systemic sex-based barriers related to menstruation in educational spaces. Absent an interpretation that there is explicit Title IX coverage, menstruation will continue to cause some students to miss instruction. Other students may be denied access to a menstrual product or a restroom as needed and face health consequences. They also may be teased and bullied after menstrual blood visibly leaks onto their clothes. Employees, who are also covered by Title IX, may be fired for damaging school property as a result of such leaks. People in perimenopause may be denied reasonable modifications like bathroom access, water, or temperature control. Collectively, this creates an educational system that prevents students, faculty, or employees from fully participating in educational institutions and causes harm. On July 12, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (“DOE”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking “to better align the Title IX regulatory requirements with Title IX\u27s nondiscrimination mandate, and to clarify the scope and application of Title IX and [schools\u27 obligations] to provide an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including through responding to incidents of sex discrimination.” On September 12, 2022, the Authors submitted the below Comment asking the DOE to modify existing regulations to cover menstruation-related discrimination in three ways. First, the regulations should include “menstruation or related conditions” from menarche through menopause in the scope of discrimination on the basis of sex. Second, the regulations should include reasonable modifications for “menstruation or related conditions.” Finally, the regulations should provide education on “menstruation or related conditions” to all students and employees, regardless of sex, to tackle barriers related to reporting and eliminating sex-based discrimination and to provide equal access. Only then will Title IX be able to fully live up to its nondiscrimination mandate. This Article contains our Comment asking the DOE to make these changes and explicitly include menstruation or related conditions in Title IX\u27s protections. In addition to our Comment, over 150 of the publicly available rulemaking submissions referenced menstruation and over thirty-five mentioned menopause. Collectively, these comments--from other academics, public health scholars, medical practitioners, clinicians, advocates, and individuals--further demonstrate the need for Title IX to cover menstruation-related discrimination

Wind-accretion disks in wide binaries, second generation protoplanetary disks and accretion onto white dwarfs

Mass transfer from an evolved donor star to its binary companion is a standard feature of stellar evolution in binaries. In wide binaries, the companion star captures some of the mass ejected in a wind by the primary star. The captured material forms an accretion disk. Here, we study the evolution of wind-accretion disks, using a numerical approach which allows us to follow the long term evolution. For a broad range of initial conditions, we derive the radial density and temperature profiles of the disk. In most cases, wind-accretion leads to long-lived stable disks over the lifetime of the AGB donor star. The disks have masses of a few times 10^{-5}-10^{-3} M_sun, with surface density and temperature profiles that follow broken power-laws. The total mass in the disk scales approximately linearly with the viscosity parameter used. Roughly 50% to 80% of the mass falling into the disk accretes onto the central star; the rest flows out through the outer edge of the disk into the stellar wind of the primary. For systems with large accretion rates, the secondary accretes as much as 0.1 M_sun. When the secondary is a white dwarf, accretion naturally leads to nova and supernova eruptions. For all types of secondary star, the surface density and temperature profiles of massive disks resemble structures observed in protoplanetary disks, suggesting that coordinated observational programs might improve our understanding of uncertain disk physics.Comment: ApJ, in press. Some discussion on thermal instabilities, and different viscosities adde